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Micro-hydro in the Lakes

A new green energy scheme will turn a Cumbrian stream into a mini power station benefitting local people and the climate.

Located at Logan Gill on a tributary of the River Duddon, near Broughton in Furness, the renewable energy scheme will provide electricity from a small weir on a mountain stream piping the water 1km downhill to a slate barn which houses the water turbine and other generating equipment. The hydro-electric project will provide enough electricity for a village the size of Grasmere with its 1,000 residents, and will prevent 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere every year.

It is one of the first renewable energy schemes in UK to benefit from the government’s new ‘Clean Energy Cashback’ initiative, that encourages energy suppliers to make regular payments to householders and communities who generate their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources.

The development has been undertaken by Ellergreen Hydro and financed by The Co-operative Bank, which has dedicated expertise in supporting small to medium scale renewable energy projects. The project was conceived and designed locally by specialist hydro consultants Inter Hydro, built by local contractors, and has at its heart a hydro-electric turbine made by Gilkes of Kendal, who have been global hydro industry leaders for over 150 years. The power generated at Logan Gill is purchased by Good Energy, the UK’s leading renewable electricity supplier, which provides sustainable electricity for a community of 26,000 customers nationwide.

Small-scale renewable generators like Logan Gill are helping change the energy landscape in the UK as we shift from big centralised power stations to thousands of small locally-distributed renewable generators, improving the UK’s energy security and making a difference to climate change.

Lorna Howarth is Development Director at Artists Project Earth, www.apeuk.org